Anna Spiro's Brisbane Abode

Over the past few weeks we've been getting a glimpse into some of Australia's most exciting interiordesigners' homes. This week we take a look at Brisbane based interior designer and blogger Anna Spiro's home. Filled with art and light, Anna Spiro's home is crisp, bright, contemporary with an infusion of antique, the home bridges between the aesthetic of an American Colonial with that of Parisian apartment...

My style: I am a traditionalist at heart but I do like some modern pieces too so all in all I really love to mix anything and everything. I love antique/vintage against an all-white background with pops of colour in cushions and accessories. I love collecting things too so I love pieces out on display in bookcases and on tables. I love a look which is individual and homey, colourful and fresh, inviting and comfortable!

Inspiration:I think of our house as American Colonial meets Parisian apartment so-to-speak! I love American colonial architecture and their use of white painted timber joinery but I also love the look of an Antique French piece of furniture in a light filled room so I suppose my inspiration came from America for the structure and Paris/France for the furniture!

Favorite Element: I find it hard to narrow it down to one favourite element as I love everything about our home!! But here are a few things I especially love - I love our large timber windows in our new room and the light they let into the house; I love our island bench in the kitchen as this is where my husband and my 6 year old and I catch up at night; I love my bathroom as this is where I get to relax in the bath tub after a long day at work; I love my artwork and my Antique pieces of furniture and my bookcase which is filled with all of my favourite books and magazines and collections of things; and I love my garden with all the green grass and the trees….I love nothing more than sitting out on the grass in our garden in one of my Adirondack chairs with my husband and our son swimming in our pool on a hot Summer Sunday afternoon….bliss!!

Biggest Challenge: Keeping within our budget!!

What Friends Say:Our friends love coming over to our house and most Sundays [if we aren't at our house at the beach] we have friends drop in for a swim and a few glasses of wine.

Biggest Embarrassment: The bathroom we haven't renovated yet – it's very UGLY so I just use it as a storage room at the moment until we can renovate it.

Proudest DIY: Converting an old workbench into a bathroom vanity.

Biggest Indulgence:In the construction side it would have to be the large timber windows and doors and in the furniture side it would be my artwork and antiques.

Best advice: My mother always says you have to live in a space before you set about changing it so that's what we did – we lived in the house for 12 months before embarking on our renovation and it was the best advice ever as we changed our minds over and over again and now I think we have made all the right decisions because we had time to mull everything over.

Dream source:Well as an Interior Decorator I am pretty lucky to able to source beautiful fabrics, wallpapers etc. but it's funny I do love Ebay as you find some great pieces at such great prices!